The Liver

The liver is one of the largest and most important organs in a person’s body. It is about the size of a football and weighs about 3 pounds in the average-sized person. The liver is located on the upper right side of a person’s body, behind the lower ribs.

Almost all the blood in a person’s body passes through the liver. The liver performs hundreds of functions, including storing nutrients; removing waste products and worn-out cells from the blood; filtering and processing chemicals in food, alcohol and medications; and producing bile, a solution that helps digest fats and eliminate waste products.